1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of telecommunications. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method for detecting an abnormal environmental operating condition of an element embedded in an apparatus, said element being able to communicate with a telecommunications network.
The invention has a specific application in the field of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
Said machines—in the broad sense of the term—are typically appliances, vehicles, packaging systems, everyday objects, public spaces, as well as trees, areas liable to flooding, forests, domestic or wild animals, etc. For example, a manufacturer of instruments for oil and gas production uses M2M to enable its customers remotely to gather data regarding flow rates, pressures, temperatures and tank and equipment levels. A manufacturer of injection pumps for wells uses M2M to offer its customers a means for remotely adjusting the operation of the pump (according to weather conditions). This does away with the need to perform adjustments on the site.
In a known manner, a security element such as a SIM, USIM, ISIM or URIM card can be used to provide communication between machines. Said SIM cards are connected to mobile telephone elements in order to be able to communicate over the radio waves with remote devices of a telecommunications network.
Such a card can be in conventional plug-in format (format ID-00) or be provided in the form of a reinforced plug-in (for example made of ABS, PET or resin) or even in the form of an integrated circuit intended for being soldered onto a printed circuit board or for being inserted in a suitable reader.
The card or integrated circuit contains a conventional telephone chip, such as those used in GSM, UMTS, HSPA, LTE or CDMA terminals, or else a chip that has been designed specifically for M2M.
A manufacturer of SIM cards or integrated circuits for M2M, hereinafter referred to as elements, guarantees the operation of these elements under specific environmental conditions to its customer. An M2M element is indeed subjected to operating conditions which may be harsh and limit the useful life thereof. For example, the number of deletion/writing cycles of any of its records is guaranteed within a certain span of operating temperatures. A large number of deletion/writing cycles fatigue the chip, as does operation at extreme temperatures. When said chips are embedded, for example, in vehicles, they are additionally subjected to vibrations and accelerations which reduce the operating duration thereof (vibrations can lead to poor contact when the cards are insertable—and thus not soldered—and the accelerations are generally caused by crashes).
Likewise, an excessive moisture rate may damage the cards due to the appearance of rust on the contacts thereof or on the connectors of the associated reader.
In order to extend the useful life of the cards, element manufacturers are developing specific operating systems which distribute the wear of the memory over almost all of the memory. In order to guard against vibrations, accelerations and moisture—in other words environmental conditions—it is essential to select a suitable shape factor (integration of the chip in a specific housing, for example, or integration of said chip in an integrated circuit which can be soldered).
The drawback of current M2M systems is that while a chip has not exceeded the useful life guaranteed by the manufacturer, it is difficult to identify the reason for its early failure. For the manufacturer of the chip or the element, it is particularly desirable to be able to modulate the conditions of the warranty it offers to its customers in accordance with the use of the element that includes the chip.
Thus, it is necessary to facilitate the analysis of the environmental conditions under which a chip is used.